Reading Reflection #1

1. I chose to read the book The Wright Brothers by David McCullough and found it to be incredibly fascinating and very inspirational. What I found to be the most surprising about these entrepreneurs was there great success without legitimate schooling. They were home schooled most of their lives and took in a great deal of their knowledge simply through reading different books. I really admired how they were able to persevere although in the eyes of the public they weren't expected to succeed in much at all. These two men demonstrated that with enough effort and passion they could pull off what no one expected any man to be able to doe least of all the Wright brothers. What I least admired about these entrepreneurs was how little they cared to advertise what they were working on to the public. I find that to be a big part of the creation of a product, yet the brothers were very secretive about what they were working on and hardly allowed anyone to see that could spread word of their project. These two brothers dealt with a great deal of adversity and failure throughput the process of creating their final product. Whether it was the over 900 destroyed prototypes crashing, breaking bones while maneuvering the planes, or losing hundreds of dollars, these men never gave up although faced with many issues along the way.

2. These two men showed an incredible manner of using their available skills to create something incredibly revolutionary. Apart from their relentless perseverance, these men were able to use the mechanical abilities they had learned while working in a bicycle shop and knowledge they had learned to push the limits on what humans believed to be possible.

3. In the book I was very confused on why the brothers were so persistent on the fact that no one take any pictures during their flight simulation. I would expect them to want pictures taken and attention drawn to their product, however, when demonstrating in France it appeared they were willingly choosing to neglect the benefits photography could provide.

4. If I had to ask the two brothers two questions my first would be if there was ever a point where they felt their product wasn't worth the criticism, cost, and effort required. I would ask this because I am sure that many revolutionary entrepreneurs reach a point where their doubts are overwhelming. It takes a lot of passion to go throughout the process without asking if it is worth it all and I'd love to understand their views throughout the process. The next question I'd ask would be asking what kept them going throughout the entire building experience. I'd ask this because it would be very hard to believe that they could go through what they went through without some sort of inspiration motivating them through it.

5. I believe the two brothers deemed hard work worth it if the outcome could change lives for others and revolutionize the way society viewed things. I can agree with the statement, however, I don't believe I have found a cause worthy of such hard work yet.